I like to hold on to things. Whether it be a relationship, a past season, reveling in the good times or processing through the bad, I have a difficult time letting things go. These past several months, I have been learning a lot about the art of letting go. There are times in our lives when God is asking us to close the chapter behind us and turn the page into the new thing He is doing.
I know I must not be the only one who can turn the page on a new season, while still using my thumb to hold open the previous chapter. There’s something about the past that beckons us to revisit from time to time. It can be tempting to keep a previous chapter partially open because endings seem too final. Ending the toxic relationship, leaving an old scene, changing an unhealthy behavior or coping mechanism can be daunting. And when it gets too stressful to embrace the new, we like keeping the old around as a backup.
I struggle at times with revisiting pain and past mistakes. Current struggles can provoke me to mentally dip into past problems. At times, I can string current challenges with previous ones, building a case against myself. I feel that if I can gain complete clarity and find resolution for the past, I’ll be able to tackle the future. However, my visits to the past usually inspire more question marks than periods, only adding to my load of worry and stress. And this is the exact scenario, in which I hear God so clearly telling me, “That chapter is finished. There is no longer a need to reopen it’s pages. It is finished.”
I remember that my Savior hung on the cross. He took on the weight of my shame, my sin, my mistakes, my not good enoughs and He said, “It is finished.” He closed the chapters and made turning the page possible. But turning the page and embracing the new, requires me to fully understand the weight of those words.
Finished.
It means I don’t have to wonder and worry about past events. It means I don’t need to replay, analyze or over think past mistakes. It means I don’t need to condemn, shame and beat up previous versions of me. It means I don’t need to understand all angles and facets to past problems. I just need to absorb every ounce of truth and love I can in the present and move forward.
Finished.
It means giving myself permission to have new adventures, dive into new possibilities and explore new avenues. It means believing and not doubting that I have the ability to enter into what’s new without being hindered by the old. It’s recognizing that I’ll always be imperfect and make mistakes, but from season to season and from chapter to chapter, I am growing in all the ways that make living in the new possible.
The new season is upon us and as to the past? Chapter closed.
Forget the former things; do not dwell on the past. See, I am doing a new thing! Now it springs up; do you not perceive it? I am making a way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland. (Isa. 43:18-19)
